The Alpha House

Chapter Thirteen

"Hey, you almost ready to go?" I stuck my head into Allesia's empty classroom, finding her exactly where I expected she would be: behind her desk, her nose jammed into an MCAT study book.

It had been over two months since Jamie and I had ended things for good, and in those two months, a lot had changed. Sophia had come out of her coma and made a full recovery, much to our collective relief. Allesia, Cheyenne, and Henny had all gotten their casts off, although Allesia still had to walk around in a protective boot for her leg. We had all agreed that in order to make the best of our situation, we had to stick together, so after a little bit of resistance from Sophia (who had still been pissed at me until she found out that Jamie broke my heart), we'd really become friends in the last couple months.

Cheyenne had gone back to work, running the yoga studio that she'd founded on her own in downtown Alpharetta. I'd resumed my part-time coaching at the high school, and I'd even been able to help Allesia get hired as a sub for the sophomore Chemistry class, which she loved. She was studying for the MCAT and was hoping to apply for medical school in February.

Due to her inability to travel all the way back to DC for her fancy law firm job, Henny had been fired in early October, although she hadn't let that stunt her professional ambitions. She'd picked up a part-time job at PJ's Coffee House, where I'd met Dean all those months ago, along with studying for the LSAT and applying for new paralegal jobs during her every spare moment. Henny was intense, and ambitious, but also the craziest and most fun out of all of us.

She and I had also started serving drinks at The Lion's Den part-time at nights, mostly to make a little extra money, but also to help out the guys. Most of us avoided Jamie and Mason at all costs, but we had actually started to get close with Duke, Wes, and Beau. Duke and I had even become friends lately, mostly out of my desire to see Cheyenne and him happy. They had a flirty sort of enemies-to-lovers banter going on, but she insisted he wasn't interested in taking it any further with her, or at least he'd never expressed an interest. I was skeptical of that but mostly kept my mouth shut about it.

"Yeah, sorry. Let me just pack up my things."

"How was class today?" I leaned against the doorframe, trying not to get sweat all over it. I was still wearing my black Nike sweats and maroon polo from basketball practice with the girls' team; volleyball season had ended in November, and now we were well into basketball season. I'd been thrilled when the Athletic Director had asked me to stay on as an assistant coach for the basketball team as well.

"Oh, you know. Typical teenagers. I think I'm starting to get through to them about chemical reactions, but there's still so many students who are struggling with the basic mathematics. I'm concerned that they won't be able to succeed next semester if they don't master this material." Allesia frowned, packing up her backpack and heaving it onto her shoulder.

"Yeah, science is hard. I was never any good at it. I'm sure with you as their teacher, though, they'll start to improve. Just give it time." I was concerned with how Allesia was carrying such a heavy backpack, but I knew she wouldn't let me carry it for her. She was just as small as Cheyenne, only 5'2, but with none of the muscle or core strength that Chey had.

"So do you think the guys will let us go home for Christmas?"

We exited the high school building, heading for the parking lot where my car was parked. We carpooled most days, unless I was staying home to work on my writing. Lately, though, I'd been trying to spend most of my time at the school, working out and crashing in Coach Ivy's office to help her watch film and draw up plays for the girls. Anything to keep my mind off him.

I frowned, taking Allesia's bag and throwing it into the trunk with my duffel.

"Honestly, I didn't even think about it. I definitely don't want to go home for the holidays, but I'm sure Cheyenne and Henny will want to. Did you ask Beau about it? I know he would take you back to Massachusetts if you asked."